Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Cellular wireless networks typically include a number of base stations that radiate to define wireless coverage areas, such as cells and/or cell sectors, in which user equipment devices (UEs) (also known as wireless communication devices (WCDs)) such as cell phones, “smart” phones, tablet computers, tracking devices, embedded wireless modules, and other wirelessly equipped communication devices, can operate. Each base station is coupled to network infrastructure that provides connectivity with one or more transport networks, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) for voice communications and/or the Internet for voice and/or data communications.
In general, a wireless network operates in accordance with a particular air interface protocol or radio access technology, with communications from the base stations to UEs defining a downlink or forward link and communications from the UEs to the base stations defining an uplink or reverse link. Examples of existing air interface protocols include, without limitation, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or Wireless Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) (e.g., 1×RTT and 1×EV-DO), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), among others. Each protocol defines its own procedures for registration of UEs, initiation of communications, allocation of bandwidth for UE communications, handoff/handover between coverage areas, and functions related to air interface communication.
Some cellular wireless network deployments also include wireless network relays to extend the coverage area of certain base stations. Some relays amplify both uplink signals from UEs to a base station and downlink signals from a base station to UEs. Other relays additionally receive, demodulate, re-modulate, and re-transmit uplink and downlink signals between a base station and UEs. In either configuration, each relay is coupled to and associated with a base station that manages the allocation of wireless network frequencies in the base station's coverage area.
With this arrangement, a UE within the coverage area of the wireless network may engage in air interface communication directly with a base station or indirectly with the base station via a relay connected to the base station, depending on whether the UE is within wireless range of the base station or the relay. This arrangement enables UEs to communicate via the base station, or via a relay to the base station, with various remote network entities or with other UEs served by the base station.